Hockey Australia's high performance director Toni Cumpston has left the job weeks after players were notified that she would be taking extended leave from late December.
Cumpston has spent 25 years working in high performance sport in Australia and New Zealand,including roles at the Australian Institute of Sport,Victorian Institute of Sport and as a Hockeyroos assistant coach at the Athens and Beijing Olympics.
In a statement she said she would step down on April 15 this year and that she had engaged employment lawyer Josh Bornstein of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers to"assist in finalising my departure".
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Sources with knowledge of the situation indicated HA was already well into the process of seeking her replacement before she announced her decision.
"This is not a decision I have made lightly,"Cumpston said."However,in a very short space of time it has become evident that I no longer have the support of the Board of Hockey Australia to continue this work.
"I was left with no option but to engage Mr Josh Bornstein of Maurice Blackburn Lawyers to assist in finalising my departure from the organisation."
The Hockeyroos have been embroiled in controversy since allegations of a poor culture arose late last year.